A federal magistrate judge on Tuesday rescinded the Trump administration's ability to examine data seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson last month, saying he would "conduct an independent judicial review" of the materials obtained by the Justice Department through a search warrant. Porter wrote that he "further hopes the record ultimately bears out the government’s representations." Porter had approved the search warrant in connection with an investigation into Navy veteran Aurelio Perez-Lugones, who was charged last month with unlawful retention of national defense information. Porter wrote that he was "unaware" of that law when he conducted a limited probable cause review, and he accepted responsibility for the "gap" in his analysis. Still, Porter wrote Tuesday, he could not "simply order the government to return all devices" and allow the Post to unilaterally identify material responsive to the search warrant.

Source: Washington Post February 25, 2026 14:18 UTC